bowl or bust
Inventive dinner bowls are my go-to weeknight meals, and this “deconstructed” fajita dish is one of my new faves. It’s everything you could possible want in a fajita – seasoned chicken, pan-seared peppers and onions, zesty yogurt sauce – all piled atop a bed of wild rice and rounded out with fun, colorful toppings. The best thing about making anything bowl-style is that you can customize it anyway you like, plus it’s SO easy. While I love a good old-fashioned fajita, this bowled up version is just as good while being clean and simple (no ingredients dripping out of the end of your tortilla, am I right?) You can always toast a couple of flour tortillas and serve them on the side. With this dish, you have all the power!
⟶ the recipe
chicken fajita bowl with
wild rice & cilantro lime sauce
ingredients
1 cup dry wild rice
2 pounds of chicken breast, sliced
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 cup roasted corn (fresh or frozen)
Cilantro lime sauce
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lime zest
Juice of ½ lime
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Pinch of salt
Optional toppings
Sliced avocado
Black beans
Crumbled cotija cheese
Tortilla chips
Sliced jalapeños
Additional cilantro and lime juice
Prep time
1 hour
Cook time
30 minutes
Total time
1 hour 30 minutes
4 servings
instructions
In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the wild rice, reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, and set aside, keeping warm.
Meanwhile, toss raw chicken in a bowl with the chipotle powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add a bit of olive oil to a large skillet, turn to heat to medium, and add the chicken. Cook chicken thoroughly for about 5-7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add some more oil to the skillet, and add the paprika, reducing the heat to medium low. Once paprika is sizzling, add the onion with a splash of water. Toss onions until they’re coated in the paprika, cover, and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the pepper and an additional splash of water if the onions are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir, cover, and cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are fully softened. Add the corn and chicken, tossing everything together. Remove from heat, and cover to keep warm.
Make the cilantro lime sauce by whisking together the yogurt, lime zest, and lime juice in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt to taste.
Assemble your bowls with the wild rice, fajita veggies, and a dollop of the cilantro lime sauce. Add as many additional toppings to your dish as desired.
⟶ recipe notes
- This recipe came from my desire for a fajita, but I didn’t really want flour tortillas (while corn tortillas generally work for tacos, they fantastically fall apart when I try to use them with content-heavy fajitas). I opted for wild rice instead of regular white or brown rice, and I was tickled by the results! Wild (or black or purple) rice has such a nice texture and flavor to it that you wouldn’t get otherwise
⟶ modifications
- This fajita bowl becomes a great, protein-heavy vegetarian dish if you skip the chicken and include black beans instead
- Take it a step further by making this vegan. While my cilantro lime sauce has yogurt in it, you can instead mash up the lime zest and juice with fresh avocado for a chunkier guac-like topping
- If you’re vying for that traditional fajita feel, you can definitely stuff a flour tortilla with all of the fixings. You can skip either skip the rice or keep it for more of a burrito
⟶ store it
- Store the chicken and veggies separately from the rice and cilantro lime sauce in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days
